


(Ir)replaceable

by Adriatique



Category: Heaven Official's Blessing, 天官赐福 - 墨香铜臭 | Tiān Guān Cì Fú - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Emo fish is being emo, HuaHua is being HuaHua, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, Semi-Public Sex, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:26:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29609391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adriatique/pseuds/Adriatique
Summary: The story of the two Ghost Kings and how they came to be... closer."If you lose, you will have to give up a part of you as payment. What would it be? An eye? Both eyes? Your tongue or hand? Organs will be accepted too if you have any remaining and intact!""My heart."* * *"And how in the three realms can I collect what is owed me?""I am sure you will think of the way."* * *"You see... I intend to become a god."* * *"You already owe me so much. Can you afford to lose even more of yourself to me?"
Relationships: Huā Chéng/Hè Xuán
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	(Ir)replaceable

**Author's Note:**

> This is entirely itsjaehan's fault and thus is dedicated to you, My Lord. <3  
> Many ideas and scenes are based on our interactions.
> 
> Coauthor: itildin.

* * *

Being the Chengzhu of Ghost city was as fun, as it was troublesome – on occasions. Not that Hua Cheng minded. He needed the city, he needed his influence, he needed the power he could get out of his position.

Still, at times it was bothersome. Like now, when he wanted to spend the evening just fooling around his manor, maybe build a golden leaves castle, and instead was forced to go out to the city, where there was a quarrel in one of the stalls that threatened to grow into a rather big thing, and that wasn’t desirable course of the events for the night.

Sometimes it was rather inconvenient he didn’t have a deputy or anyone of the sort he’d simply order to shut the others up. Nobody qualified enough in his eyes to that position.

“…out! You didn’t pay the new rent for last month, I was too generous!” One of the ghosts wearing a mask with long pointed nose – like there was a carrot or something within – was yelling.

“I ain’t going anywhere!” The other one, a demon with pig head was shouting back. “Not my fault you didn’t warn me of rent’s raise, how was I supposed to know?”

“Are you joking me?! Get out, you stupid…”

Hua Cheng sighed, leaning in the doorframe, overlooking the scene. Clearly it was just a regular brawl between two low level demons, but still it attracted too much attention, the mob looking and whistling around. No wonder – pig-head’s stall was settled in a good place, and there were many who’d like to shift here and get their own better selling spot.

When the ghosts noticed Hua Cheng – even though he was wearing one of his many faces, his red robes and E-Ming on his waist were recognizable just as his flashy and glamorous step-litter he came here at, - they fell silent at first, then both addressing him at the same time, demanding to do justice.

From what he managed to understand, the pig-head was accusing the carrot-nose that he didn’t have the right to raise a rent, while carrot-head was convincing the other – and the mob around – that as the owner, he could do as he pleased.

“Why am I even bothered by this?” Hua Cheng’s irritated voice made them both fell silent. “Just do as you see fit and-”

“It appears you lack intel on this one,” a new, quiet, but deep and calm voice suddenly came from the depths of the kitchens. Even though he didn’t precise it, he was clearly speaking to Hua Cheng directly.

Ghosts and demons all seem to have glanced in that direction. The tall, yet very thin man clad in black with an indifferent white mask over his face didn’t seem to be affected by the attention at all. He raised the dusty, partially crumpled scroll in his hand. Apparently he worked here and, while the two were arguing, set to search for this particular piece of paper.

“Do I, now,” Hua Cheng murmured, narrowing his eyes at the youth. Indeed it was rather unusual for anyone at all to interrupt him while speaking in such a bold manner. He studied closer the other’s appearance – seemed to be ghost of a human. Resentful, but who here wasn’t. And yet… there was something about the youth’s aura he couldn’t quite comprehend. Perhaps, the same way the heavenly officials could sense mortal men who had the aura of the future deities, he felt the same thing coming off this inconspicuous at the first glance ghost – the potential.

How… curious.

“What are you talking about, scholar?” the pig-head’s small eyes gave off the warning glint. “How do you even address Chengzhu so boldly?”

“‘Scholar’”, Hua Cheng repeated with a scoff, his gaze still fixed upon the youth. “Why do they call you so?”

“Was one once upon a time,” the curt answer came from the other side. The youth stepped closer, unfolding the scroll. “In any case, regarding the matter at hand. It states here in the rent deal for this stall in fine letters that, while the owner does hold the right to raise the rent at will, he must notify the one renting not less than a month prior to it and also receive the agreement note from the other party before doing so, else the deal is invalid and holds no force.” The “scholar” lowered the scroll and, tilting his head to the side, suddenly wondered. “Does nobody here ever read these?” His tone sounded impassive and distant, as if he was either bored or didn’t care at all.

“Bold of you to assume they even know to read,” only Hua Cheng could’ve openly state something like that and the ghosts wouldn’t dare say a thing in return. The scholar merely hmphed and shrugged at that.

“Figured.”

Hua Cheng smirked, gesturing for him to come closer and bring that scroll over as well. He ran through the text with his gaze briefly, finding that scholar’s words were true.

“Then there’s nothing for me to deal here with,” he waved off his hand and turned to leave, but glanced at the tall black figure from behind his shoulder. “Come here for a second, sir scholar.”

Hua Cheng caught a glimpse of how the black clad figure looked in pig-head’s direction, and the latter waved him off – “Chengzhu called, go, go!” – and scoffed, climbing inside his step-litter.

“Well?” He asked, when scholar stopped about a step from the red satin veils around the step-litter.

“Well – what? I’m here.”

Hua Cheng laughed. “And here I thought you’d be as bold as to get inside without me having to specify it, since you were acting so cocky before.”

There was a surprised silence on the other side of the satin veils. Then, they shifted, as the other man climbed inside.

“Sit.” Hua Cheng snorted, seeing him standing half-bent to fit in.

It was… rather amusing to see how the youth initially – probably – thought to actually sit beside Hua Cheng, but then shook that thought off – good for him, smart indeed – and simply settled over the small parch of the floor by Hua Cheng’s feet. He glanced at him, and then unexpectedly reached up, taking his mask off. The pair of deep, yellowish eyes greeted Hua Cheng, as well as deep brows and rather somber expression. Still, despite him looking pretty gloomy, it surprised Hua Cheng to see that the other was not that much older – or younger – than him. About the same age, actually. If this was his true skin, of course. But now that he saw those eyes, the feeling became even clearer, he practically could smell if off that ghost.

The p o t e n t i a l.

If so…

Hua Cheng paused, taking his time to look at him properly, before speaking again. “Was one once upon a time?”

“That, and I, unlike the most, know to read and write,” scholar’s gaze was unafraid. Unlike most of them too. That was also something new. “Sometimes it comes in handy.”

“Like now.”

“Like now,” he agreed calmly. “I’d hate to lose my job in that stall. The pig-head ghost isn’t that bad of a boss.”

“Hm.”

Outside of step-litter the city resumed its usual life, the pig-head and carrot-nose apparently reached some sort of agreement over that scroll and the stall, so things quieted down. However, right now inside here there was Hua Cheng’s own small world – he sealed off the litter so that no sounds from it would be heard on the outside.

“Well, sir scholar, you helped me out today a bit,” Hua Cheng said lazily. “In Ghost City things don’t remain unattended this way or that way. You can have one small request granted from this. Choose words carefully, even though I’m feeling generous tonight. After all, nobody ranking lower than the Supreme is qualified to talk to me,” he added arrogantly, the step-litter beginning to move at his command, carrying them towards Paradise Manor.

The youth remained silent for a while, his clever eyes observing surroundings – and Hua Cheng himself.

“Will it befit a small request if I asked you to help me identify one man?” He finally asked, as the step-litter was passing by the lake’s shore.

Hua Cheng hmphed in an indifferent agreement. It wasn’t uncommon, for ghosts to wish to know who their murdered was, or who did them wrong, or anything of the sort. He didn’t mind that request.

“Show,” he merely uttered in a lazy tone. “If I know, I’ll tell you. If not – well, then, bad luck.” However, when the image of the man was conjured up before his eyes, his face somewhat dropped, as he shot a sharp glance towards the scholar. “Why.”

“You said I can have one request. This is what I want, what I need to know,” he had to give it to this damn youth, his composure was something. Other ghosts or demons in this situation would be either too shocked to speak or too humiliated to act at all, sitting on the floor by his feet like that. Yet this one seemed to be unaffected by anything of the sort. “Who is this man? You know, don’t you?”

Hua Cheng’s eyes swept over the other’s face, lingering to look into his eyes, before he leaned back in his seat, resuming his seemingly lazy and leisure pose, turning to look through the window.

“En. I know.”

The scholar patiently waited. Hua Cheng sighed. Stubborn and persistent. Smart too, obviously. Remembers the details – who else would’ve thought of some old almost lost deal? Knows how to use information. Bold, but knows the borders. Hm. Well. Maybe, this once…

“The Water Master Wudu. Ascended several years ago, almost at the same time with his brother Wind Master Qingxuan. Consider this an extra bit of information.”

Something flashed at the bottom of those golden eyes. He inclined his head in a bow, looking into Hua Cheng’s face then, his lips twitching, as if he’d wanted to say something else, but the step-litter stopped then – they reached Paradise Manor.

Hua Cheng stepped out of it, the youth following, his face bearing thoughtful and grim expression. Hua Cheng turned around, eyeing him.

“What.”

“You said nobody but the Supreme had right to talk to you.”

“En.”

“How.”

Hua Cheng raised his eyebrow in question. The youth took a step closer, not putting his mask back on for the time being, his eyes locked with Hua Cheng’s own.

“How does one become the Supreme.”

Hua Cheng burst into laughter.

“Oh, but that is already another request, sir bold scholar.”

“I’ll find out either way,” there was something within his voice that made Hua Cheng stop laughing at once. “But I’d prefer to hear it from you.”

“Why?” He narrowed his eyes, wary of this conversation. “What’s in there for me?”

“Possible alliance.”

Hua Cheng whipped around, bewildered.

“Little ghost, you are nobody and nothing, and yet as cocky and daring as saying these things to me, out of everybody? Are you stupid?”

“I’ve seized my chance to talk to you properly, when I got one, that’s all.”

Hua Cheng snorted and turned away, beginning to walk in Paradise Manor’s direction.

“You’ll know it,” he said, not looking back anymore. “Everyone will know it, when the time comes.”

“Then I’ll see you, when I come back as one.”

“Pfft… if you do, feel free to come by, sir scholar. You owe me now for this one.”

He didn’t need to look back to feel the other’s heavy gaze following him, until he disappeared inside Paradise Manor.

He shook his head, casting a side glance through the window, seeing that tall thin figure walking away to the direction they came from.

“…good luck. Sir scholar,” he murmured, before going into his chambers.


End file.
